Melissa Sweet (illustrator) facts for kids

Melissa Sweet, born on January 1, 1956, is an American artist who writes and illustrates books for children and young readers. She has created nearly 100 books!

She has won many important awards for her work. For example, her book Balloons Over Broadway won the Golden Kite Award and the Sibert Medal in 2012. Another book, Some Writer!, won a Cybils Award in 2016. Two books she illustrated, A River of Words (2009) and The Right Word (2015), were honored with Caldecott Medal awards.

About Melissa Sweet

Melissa Sweet was born in Wyckoff, New Jersey. She studied art at the Kansas City Art Institute.

Today, she lives with her husband in Rockport, Maine.

Her Amazing Career

Melissa Sweet started her career illustrating books with the "Pinky and Rex" series by James Howe. Since then, she has illustrated almost 100 books. She has written many of these books herself, and for others, she has worked with different authors. She illustrated three books for author Jen Bryant: A River of Words, A Splash of Red, and The Right Word.

How She Creates Her Art

Melissa Sweet does a lot of research for the biographies she illustrates for children. She uses watercolor, mixed media, and collage in her artwork.

She once shared that she loves to use "every color on the color wheel." She also really likes using "complementary colors," which are colors that look good together. She learned a lot about mixing colors in an art class.

Watercolor is her favorite way to illustrate. She was inspired to start writing and illustrating children's books by Maurice Sendak's "Little Bear" series. She said these books made her believe she could illustrate children's stories too.

Making Balloons Over Broadway

When Melissa Sweet created the art for Balloons Over Broadway, she started by making toys and puppets. She played with many different materials to see what would happen.

Her collages in the book use paper from old books to make puppets. She also used found objects and fabrics. She painted or changed these materials to show what it might have felt like to be in Tony Sarg's world. Some of the toys in her illustrations are based on Sarg's own collection. She even used some of Tony Sarg's original drawings in her book.

Melissa Sweet always tried to remember that Tony Sarg had fun with everything he did. She believes that "play" is a very important part of making art!

Some Writer! The Story of E. B. White

Some Writer! The Story of E. B. White is a biography that Melissa Sweet wrote and illustrated. It is 176 pages long. She used watercolor and collage art for the pictures.

The book shares parts of E. B. White's personal life. It also includes early versions of his famous novels and family photos. Melissa Sweet got permission to use White's words from his granddaughter, Martha White. Martha White also helped by letting Melissa see the family's personal records and photo albums.

Awards and Special Honors

In 2019, the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art gave Melissa Sweet a Carle Honor. This award celebrates artists who have made great contributions to children's literature.

Two of her books, Balloons over Broadway (2011) and Some Writer! (2016), were chosen as Junior Library Guild selections.

In 2005, The New York Times named her book Carmine one of the best illustrated books of the year.

Balloons Over Broadway was also named one of the best nonfiction children's books of 2011 by the Chicago Public Library, The Horn Book Magazine, and Publishers Weekly.

Some Writer! became a New York Times Best Seller. Many libraries and magazines, like the Chicago Public Library and Kirkus Reviews, listed it as one of the best books of 2016.

Awards for Her Books

Awards for Books She Illustrated

Many books Melissa Sweet has illustrated have also received awards. Fourteen of these books are Junior Library Guild selections. These include Pinky and Rex and the School Play (1998) and The Right Word (2014).

In 2009, The Horn Book Magazine named The Sleepy Little Alphabet one of the best picture books of the year. The New York Times also included A River of Words as one of the top ten illustrated books that year.

Brave Girl was named one of the best nonfiction children's books of 2013 by School Library Journal.

In 2014, Firefly July was chosen as one of the best picture books by The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books and Publishers Weekly.

Books by Melissa Sweet

Here are some of the books Melissa Sweet has created:

Books She Wrote and Illustrated

• Carmine: A Little More Red (2005)
• Tupelo Rides the Rails (2008)
• Balloons Over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy's Parade (2011)
• Some Writer! The Story of E. B. White (2016)

Books She Illustrated for Other Authors

• Girls Think of Everything: Stories of Ingenious Inventions by Women (2002) by Catherine Thimmish
• Moonlight The Halloween Cat (2003) by Cynthia Rylant
• The Boy Who Drew Birds:The Story of John James Audubon (2004) by Jacqueline Davies
• Baby Bear's Chairs (2005) by Jane Yolen
• A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams (2008) by Jen Bryant
• The Sleepy Little Alphabet: A Bedtime Story from Alphabet Town (2009) by Judy Sierra
• Rubia and the Three Osos (2010) by Susan Middleton Elya
• Mrs. Harkness and the Panda (2012) by Alicia Potter
• Spike, the Mixed Up Monster (2012) by Susan Hood
• A Splash of Red: The Life and Art of Horace Pippin (2013) by Jen Bryant
• The Right Word: Roget and His Thesaurus (2014) by Jen Bryant
• Little Red Writing (2013) by Joan Hoab
• Brave Girl: Clara and the Shirtwaist Maker's Strike (2013) by Michelle Markel
• Day is Done (2014) by Peter Yarrow
• Firefly July: A Year of Very Short Poems (2014) by Paul B. Janeczko
• You Nest Here With Me (2015) by Jane Yolen and Heidi Stemple
• Listen to Our World (2016) by Bill Martin Jr. and Michael Sampson
• How To Read A Book (2019) by Kwame Alexander
• Unbound: The Life and Art of Judith Scott (2021) by Joyce Scott and Brie Spangler